Elvis impersonator, wife face welfare fraud charges

An award-winning Elvis impersonator from Glens Falls who has appeared at the Lake George Elvis Festival may be singing the “Jailhouse Rock” after police said he was also pretending to need welfare benefits.

Joseph E. Ramsey and his wife, Angela Ramsey, both 33, of 25 Larose St. Apartment E5 in Glens Falls were charged with welfare fraud after the Warren County Sheriff’s Office said they did not accurately report all of Joseph’s income as an Elvis tribute artist while receiving food stamps and Medicaid.

The sheriff’s office said the Ramseys received $50,297 in public assistance benefits from January 2008 to December 2011 using applications with false information.

Joseph Ramsey has been an Elvis impersonator for nearly six years, according to a website promoting his work. The website features YouTube videos of Joseph in black and gold jumpsuits sporting an open chest, sideburns and singing Elvis classics.

According to the site, http://joeramsey.webs.com, Joseph knows almost 200 Elvis songs and has performed as the classic rocker throughout the country and at the annual Lake George Elvis Festival.

In 2009, Times Union photographer Cindy Schultz made this video of Joseph Ramsey at a Corinth Elementary School car show: